Yahoo Finance Stock Market News for May 17, 2024
Wall Street closed lower on Thursday after the Dow Jones breached the 40,000 mark in the session before falling back down. Weekly jobless claims data came in lower and acted as a mood dampener. All of the three major stock indexes ended in the red.
How Did the Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 38.62 points, or 0.1%, to close at 39,869.38. Fifteen components of the 30-stock index ended in positive territory, while the other fifteen ended in negative. At one point in the day, however, the benchmark index had crossed the 40,000 mark for the first time in its history.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 44.07 points, or 0.3%, to close at 16,698.32.
The S&P 500 declined 11.05 points, or 0.2%, to close at 5,297.10. Nine of the 11 broad sectors of the benchmark index closed in the red. The Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB), the Consumer Discretionaries Select Sector SPDR (XLY) and the Industrials Select Sector SPDR (XLI) lost 0.7%, 0.7% and 0.6%, respectively, while the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) gained 1.4%.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) decreased 0.2% to 12.42. A total of 17.8 billion shares were traded on Thursday, higher than the last 20-session average of 11.5 billion. Decliners outnumbered advancers by a 1.2-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, declining issues outnumbered advancing ones by a 1.17-to-1 ratio.
Jobless Claims Tick in Lower
The Labor Department said on Thursday that initial jobless claims fell to 222,000, decreasing by 10,000 for the week ending May 11. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 231,000 to 232,000. The four-week moving average was 217,750, marking a rise of 2,500 from the previous week. The prior week's average was revised up by 250 to 215,250.
Continuing claims came in at 1,794,000 for the week ending May 4, increasing by 13,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week's level was revised down by 4,000 from 1,785,000 to 1,781,000. The four-week moving average was 1,779,250, a decrease of 750 from the previous week's revised average. Last week's average was revised down by 1,000 from 1,781,000 to 1,780,000.
Following this jobs report, investor mood dampened a bit as they inferred that the Fed might not be compelled to cut interest rates as soon as expected. As a result, the benchmark indexes, which were scaling record highs over last session’s inflation numbers, closed in the red for the day.
However, investors are currently expecting at least two 25 bps cuts to rates this year. They envisage a 70% chance of the first reduction in September, per the CME FedWatch Tool.
Consequently, shares of Super Micro Computer, Inc. SMCI and Nexstar Media Group, Inc. NXST slid 5% and 2%, respectively. Both currently carry a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Economic Data
The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly reported that Housing Starts increased to 1,360,000 in April. The number for March was revised down to 1,287,000 from the previously reported 1,321,000. Building Permits decreased to 1,440,000 in April. The number for March was revised up to 1,485,000 from the previously reported 1,458,000.
Per a Fed report, Capacity utilization moved down to 78.4 percent in April from 78.5 reported in March. Industrial Production remained unchanged.
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